Well cementing device



Nov. 28, 1950 F, H, LEE l 2,531,942

WELL CEMENTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 24, 1947 Patented Nov. 28, 159502,531,942 WELL onMENTrNG DEVICE Francislimrtn Lee, SanPed-ro,Salif-assigner tto Ba'kfui Ouf T0015. IHG': Yefrnpnf, Cami-1, 31.00;.'-iaoeiifa of @einem Application February 24, 1947, Serial No. 730,346

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fir-Gleime 1.

The present invention relates. to Well cement.- ing devices, andmoreparticularly to sideported cementing devices adapted to form part oi awell casing, lineark or similar conduit string.

Anobject of the present invention is to pro videA an improved. sidevported cementing device adapted` to forrnpart of a. well casing, lineror similar conduit string, which is of, compact and comparatively simpleconstruction, maintaining the overalloutside diameterof. thedevice to aminimum, the side ports of the device being opened and'closed. bymanipulation. of the. conduit string.

Another object ofthe invention is.. to provide a side ported cernentingdevive. adapted to.. form part of a Well casing, liner or similarAconduit string, whose side portscan be opened and Closed bymanipulationof, the conduit string, and in which any tendency for. theparts to become plugge'dor, fouled is largely, if not entirely, elim?inated.

This invention hasother objects and aspects which will become apparentfrom a consideration of. the embodimentshown. in the rawings acf,companying and forming part of the. present specication. This form, willnoW-bedescribed in detail, butit isy tobe understood thatsueh def taileddescription isf'not tobec taken in lallirnited sense, since the scope ofthe invention is best dcned by the claims appended hereto,

-Referring to thedrawings:

Fig.'1.is al longitudinal View,l partly in releva; tion and. partly'insection, of the device, with its. parts intlieir initial positions ,Yclosing. the ports.

Fig; 2. is a .partial longitudinal -4 section. of the device, withthepartsin port opening position,

Fig.,3 isa' View similar to Fig. 2,. with the parts, in position toreclose the ports.

As disclosed in Athedrawings, the device, in the form .of a collar Aadapted. to constitute. part of a string of well casing by beingAconnected to upper and' lower casing sections B, C and securel ing thelatter in longitudinal spaced relation. Although specic reference ismade in this de scription to av well casing and casingsections., it isYto be understood that the invention isalso applicable to liner andsimilar conduit strings.

The apparatus includes an upper outer tubu-L larnmember IQ adapted to bethreaded onto an upper casing section B, and a lower inner tubularmember Il adapted to be threadedV within. or onto a lower casingsectionC. The two members are telescopically arranged with respectto-each other, with the lower member Il Vdisposed within theupper memberID, their interconnection being obtained by straight external :threadsl2 on the lower member engaging companion straight. .internal-threads I3on. the uppenmember. The upper member l is provided with an uppershoulder or seat litpositioned aboveaplu.- rality of: circumferentiallyy disposed side ports'. l5, and the. upper end lof the lower. member.con.- stitutes a head adaptedV to, be. movedl acrossv the portsv l5. andinto firm sealing engagementwith tha seatA I4, inorder.- to close theports against passage ofiiuids. in .bothdirections A valve.sleeve.. Ii'lismounted o n the exterior of both theupperand lower members, itsupperportion Ila extending initially acrossthe ports l5, there being asuitable seal, suchasa, Around rubber ringI I mounted in an internal`ring groove I9.:` in the sleeve' and adaptedto,4 engage the periphery.of the upperi member laboye-the ports, I5, forl the purposeof;preventing leakage through. the-` ports` whenY thei sleeve i isiAdisposed thereover. The sleeve Ilis-slidably Splined; to thelower-member Il in anypsuitablemanner, as, for example, by positioningoneK or more keyss 29e welded to the. sleeve, within; longituf dinalslots or key-ways` 2| in thelowermember. Leakage of. fluid betweentheloWer-member Il and sleeve. l'IV may be. prevented )ayasuitable Asideseal, in the form of-a roundrubber ring 22, enf gagingtheinnersurfaceofvthevsleeve and carriedzwithin an external ring groove23 in the lowermember.l

Thefsleeye I'l issecuredto theupper memb er by its internal threadsMengagingcom-f panion. external threads25 onthelatter part.

These threads 24, 25 are of a differenthand from A the threads i3, y l2constituting the interconnectionbetween thevupperand lower members.; l0,H so that thcsleeve Il andlowermemf berl l may move relativelyindifferent directions Aalongtlie upper member IB upon rotation of thelatter..y Itis to be notedthat the threaded connection 2f, 25 lbetweenthe-sleeve il and upf per member. l0 extends, forV a comparatively shortdistance,. to,A permit the, threads .-to; dis,.- engagef.

In onespeci io r1 n of, ,the device, the Straight threaded,connectionhiAl2betv,1een the upper and-lower members-l l, H may beconstituted byrighthand threadsL wr reasttha-,threadedg Connection 24, 25 1 between hesleeve l1 Vand upper member-TIS may be constitu-ted byfinterengaginglei-thand threads, having a-,leadVA substantially greater than/,the,lead of the `:righthandethreads. More .specically the lead.; oftheleft-,hand threaded; connection; 24., .25:11amX be; twicefffthe. leed0f the Iiehthandf threaded V.commet/ion.N I2-l !Sgin `order ,that thesleeve vl'l may-move -along the upper member I 0f; twice,-` the distanceL that theupner member. moves :alonathe lowenfmember l l; upon rotationnof .the former.;

The. ,apparatus.. ist.; assembled .with the runner sleeve. seal. I8.ldispcsedfmssealne engagement with,y the ...upper member .l nabove,vthelcincumelr ential ports l5, as determined by upward.

threading of the sleeve Il on the upper mem- Vber is threadedly securedto the upper member with its head disposed at a substantial distancebelow the ports. The device, as thus assembled (see Fig. 1), is threadedonto the lower casing section C of the casing string and also onto theupper casing section B, and is lowered with the Casing string as acomponent part thereof in the well bore to the desired depth orlocation.

In the event cement is to be discharged from the casing string at somepoint below the collar A, the required amount of cement slurry may bepumped directly into the casing string (preferably preceded bycirculating fluid to condition the well bore), passing through thecollar device A, whose ports I5 are closed by the sleeve Il, anddischarging from the casing string at the Specified lower point, as froma casing shoe (not shown), after which the charge of slurry ows upwardlythrough the annulus around the casing string toward the apparatus A tothe desired height.

Following ejection of the lower charge of cement slurry, and after itshardening, the upper portion of the casing string connected to thedevice A is rotated to the right a predetermined number of revolutions,which threads the upper member lo downwardly along the lower member Il,and also effects threading of the sleeve il downwardly along the uppermember I and lower member II, in view of the leitliand threadedconnection 24, 25. It is to be noted that the lower charge of cementholds vthe lower portion of the casing string stationrighthand threadedconnection I2, I3, the sleeve 'Il moves downwardly along the uppermember Ill twice the distance that the upper member Ie is movingdownwardly along the lower member II. Accordingly, the upper end Ila ofthe sleeve will move down beiow the ports I5 before L,

the upper head end IG of the lower member H can be positioned across theports, so that rotation of the upper member l0 a predetermined number ofrevolutions will completely expose the ports I5 by threading the sleeveI'! downwardly a suicient distance, but will not, at first, effectclosing of the ports by the lower tubular member II (see Fig. 2). It ispreferred that the lefthand threaded connection 24, 25 become completelydisengaged after the sleeve Il has moved downwardly7 to port openingposition, since the sleeve serves no further port controlling functionafter it has been moved to port opening position, and there is no needfor continuing its downward threading. A second charge of cement slurrymay now be pumped directly into the casing for outward 'passage throughthe open ports I5 and for upward flowing through the annulus around theupper portion of the casing string. When suilicient cement slurry hasthus been discharged laterally from the collar device A, righthandrotation of the casing string may continue, in order to thread the uppertubular member I0 downwardly over the lower tubular member II and bringthe seat I4 in the upper member rmly into engagement with the upper headend I6 of the lower member, with the lower member disposed across theports I5. VThe lower member II may be provided with circular ribs 28 onits head end I6, to provide a multiple metallic seal between the upperand lower members I0, II, and thus insure against leakage of uidsthrough the ports I5 upon their engagement.

It is to :be noted that the seat I on the upper member, engageable withthe head end I6 of the lower member, is disposed above the ports I5 andin such position that the lower charge of cement slurry will passdownwardly beyond it without tending to contaminate the seat, in View ofits facing in a downward direction. Accordingly, the danger of suchseats becoming contaminated or coated with cement particles is reduced.In any event, should any foreign substances tend to cling to the seat,they will be pierced readily by the ribs 28 on the lower member head IE.

It is further to be noted that the inside diameter of the device ispreferably at least equal to and no less than the inside diameter of thecasing sections, as B, C, constituting the remaining poi'- tion of thecasing string itself, to establish no restriction to the passage ofcementing plugs and other devices through the collar A. The maximumoutside diameter of the device is the diameter of the sleeve valve I1,which is very little more than the outside diameter of the ordinarycasing couplings comprising the casing string, thereby enabling thedevice to be run in well bores whose diameters are not substantiallygreater than the diameter of the casing sections themselves.

Itis, accordingly, apparent that a well cementing device or collar has'been provided, in which the ports I5 are closed initially against thepassage of fluid to permit iluids to be pumped through the casing stringto some lower point, in which the ports are readily opened throughrotation of the casing string in one direction, as to the right, and inwhich the ports are positively reclosed by a continuation of therotation of the casing string in the same direction, to prevent passageof fluid in both directions through the ports. The device consists of arelatively small number of parts, compactly arranged, and simplyconstructed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Pat-ent is:

l. Apparatus of the character described, including a rst tubular memberhaving a side port, a second tubular member, said members being adaptedto form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable over said sideport to close the same, means providing a slidable spline connectionbetween said second member and sleeve, means providing a firstconnection between said Sleeve and rst tubular member, means providing asecond connection between said members, said rst and second connectionsbeing so constructed and arranged that relative rotation between saidmembers moves said sleeve longitudinally of said rst member between portclosing and port opening positions and moves said members longitudinallyof each other between port opening and port closing positions.

2. Apparatus of the character described. in-

cluding a first tubular member having a side port, a second tubularmember, said members being adapted to form part of a well casing string,a sleeve disposable over said side port to close the same, meansproviding a slidable spline connection vbetween said second member andsleeve, means providing a threaded connection b-etween said sleeve andrst tubular member, means providing a threaded connection between saidmembers, said threaded connections being so arranged that relativerotation between said members eiects movement of said sleevelongitudinally of said first member from port closing to port openingposition and moves said members longitudinally of each other to closesaid port.

3. Apparatus of the character described, including a rst tubular memberhaving a side port, a second tubular member, said members being adaptedto form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable over said sideport to close the same, means providing a slidable spline connectionbetween said second member and sleeve, means providing a threadedconnection between said sleeve and rst tubular member, means providing athreaded connection between said members of a different lead from thelead of said other threaded connection, whereby relative rotationbetween said members eiects longitudinal movement of said sleeve alongsaid first member a diierent distance than said members are movedlongtudinally of each other, to open and close said side port.

4. Apparatus of the character described, including a rst tubular memberhaving a side port, a second tubular member, said members being adaptedto form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable over said sideport to close the same, means providing a slidable spline connectionlbetween said second member and sleeve, means providing a threadedconnection between said sleeve and rst tubular member, means providing athreaded connection between said members of a diierent hand from thehand of said other threaded connection, whereby relative rotationbetween said members effects movement of said sleeve longitudinally ofsaid rst member between port closing and port opening positions andmoves said members longitudinally of each other between port opening andport closing positions.

5. Apparatus of the character described, including a nrst tubular memberhaving a side port, a second tubular member, said members being adaptedto form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable over said sideport to close the same, means providing a slidable spline connectionbetween one ci said members and said sleeve, means providing a threadedconnection between said sleeve and the other of said members, meansproviding a threaded connection between said members of a different handfrom the hand of said other threaded connection, whereby relativerotation between said members effects movement of said sleevelongitudinally of said rst member between port closing and port openingpositions and moves said members longitudinally of each other betweenport opening and port closing positions,

6. Apparatus of the character described, including a first tubularmember having a side port, a second tubular member, said members beingadapted to form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable oversaid side port to close the same, means providing a slidable splineconnection between said second member and sleeve,

means providing a lefthand threaded connection between said sleeve andiirst tubular member, means providing a righthand threaded connectionbetween said members, whereby relative rotation between said memberseiTects movement of said sleeve longitudinally of said first memberbetween port closing and port opening positions and moves said memberslongitudinally of each other between port opening and port closingpositions.

7. Apparatus of the character described, including a first tubularmember having a side port, a second tubular member, said members beingadapted to form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable oversaid side port to close the same, means providing a slidable splineconnection between said second member and sleeve, means providing alefthand threaded connection between said sleeve and first tubularmember, means providing a righthand threaded connection between saidmembers of a lesser lead from the lead of said lefthand threadedconnection, whereby relative rotation between said members effectslongitudinal movement of said sleeve along said first member from portclosing to port opening position and moves said members longitudinallyof each other from port opening to port closing position.

8. Apparatus of the character described, including an upper tubularmember having a side port, a lower tubular member, said members beingadapted to form part of a well casing string, a sleeve disposable oversaid side port to close the same, means providing a slidable splineconnection between said lower member and sleeve, means providing alefthand threaded connection between said sleeve and upper tubularmember, means providing a righthand threaded connection between saidmembers of a lesser lead from the lead of said lefthand threadedconnection, whereby rotation of said upper member effects downwardmovement of said sleeve to port opening position and moves said uppermember down along said lower member to locate said lower member acrosssaid port to close the same.

9. Apparatus of the character described, including an upper tubularmember having a side port and a valve seat above said port, a lowertubular member disposed within said upper membre and having a valve headadapted to engage said seat, said members being adapted to form part ofa well casing string, a sleeve on the exterior of said membersdisposable over said side port to close the same, means providing aslidable spline connection between said lower member and sleeve, meansproviding a lefthand threaded connection between said sleeve and uppertubular member, means providing a righthand threaded connection betweensaid members of a lesser lead from the lead of said lefthand threadedconnection, whereby rotation of said upper member eiTects ldownwardmovement of .said sleeve to port opening position and moves said uppermember down along said lower' member to dispose said port over saidlower member land engage its seat with said head.

FRANCIS HAMPTON LEE.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hayward Sept. 10, 1940Number

